Jahlil Okafor to remain out of Sixers rotation

It looks as if, for the foreseeable future, Jahlil Okafor will continue to watch the Sixers play from the bench.

"I'm playing Amir [Johnson] ahead of him, and that's just the situation," coach Brett Brown said Friday. "[Okafor] comes in and his head is good, his spirit is good, and he and I talk all the time. But that is the bottom line: He is not in the rotation."

Brown didn't indicate a way in which Okafor could move himself into playing time. Instead, Brown said he would have to see a decline in production from Johnson before he thinks about changing the rotation at the center position.

Another piece to the puzzle is Richaun Holmes, who has been recovering from a fractured left wrist. Holmes was cleared to practice in a limited capacity Friday but will be out until at least Nov. 2, when he will be reevaluated.

When Holmes is available, Brown said, there will be another conversation about how to divide the front-court minutes.

Before Holmes' injury on Oct. 6, Brown said there was tight competition between Johnson and Holmes for the reserve center spot. Now, Brown says, the matter has turned instead to how Johnson performs from now until Holmes returns.

"I think it's going to be Amir's spot to lose." he said.

Stability with the current rotation is another reason Brown gave for keeping Johnson ahead of Okafor. He said he wants to give the team a sense of consistency when it comes to who will be playing next to whom and how they will be playing.

Brown said he made the decision to play Johnson rather than Okafor during the preseason and early days of the regular season, despite Okafor's offensive efficiency in exhibition games.

After using the offseason to change his body, losing around 20 pounds, Okafor scored a total of 38 points through the first four preseason games for the Sixers, shooting 73.9 percent. He had an off performance in the final preseason contest going just 1-of-4 from the field. In the end, Brown gave the backup job to Johnson.

"That's been my decision, and that's how I'm playing it now," he said.

Okafor's only playing time this season came in the Sixers' 128-94 blowout loss at Toronto, where he finished with 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting, nine rebounds, and two blocks.

Johnson is averaging 3.6 points and five rebounds through five games this season. The Sixers are 1-4.

It has long been speculated that the Sixers will look to move Okafor before the Feb. 8 trade deadline. By keeping Okafor out of the rotation, it doesn't seem as if the team is concerned about affecting the third-year center's stock ahead of a potential deal.

With Markelle Fultz sidelined with a sore right shoulder, Brown said to expect more from Justin Anderson as well as Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and T.J. McConnell.

Anderson, in his third year, came to the Sixers in the trade that sent Nerlens Noel to the Mavericks, whom the Sixers will face Saturday in Dallas. Anderson said that it was challenging dealing with the emotions of being traded but that he harbors no ill feelings toward anyone in Dallas.

"It's all love there. Obviously, they were the first team to show me what the NBA was, my first NBA city. I have nothing but love for those guys," Anderson said Friday.

Before the game, Anderson said, he will talk to his past teammates and coaches and enjoy seeing them. But then it will be game time and the most important thing is to come away with a win.

Anderson finished with eight points, shooting 2 for 5 from beyond the arc, in the Sixers' loss to the Rockets on Wednesday.